I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It

by Barbara Sher

Interest is the sincerest form of respect.

“Do it first, learn how second,”

Action will raise your self-esteem better than affirmations. Telling yourself that you’re a good person doesn’t work for long. At least, not for me. After the second day of telling my mirror I’m wonderful, my mirror starts looking very skeptical. “Who are you trying to kid?” it seems to say. My mind doesn’t like propaganda, even if it’s good for me.

Safety is riskier than you realize.

Time is the only real wealth we’re given—but it’s half gone before we understand that, because when it comes to time, children feel like millionaires. Old people know a lot about time and will tell you freely that their greatest regrets were the things they didn’t do. You don’t have to be very old to know what they’re talking about. Look back at your adolescence and ask yourself, what do you regret most? Do you regret the things you did, or the ones you didn’t have the courage to do? Do you regret the dances you went to, even when you were awkward and uncertain and felt like a fool? Or do you regret the ones you avoided so you wouldn’t feel like a fool?

You’re not scared because you chose to be a coward. Something scared you! The problem is just that you can’t exactly locate it anymore. Believe me, underneath every cautious person’s surface there’s a mighty drama being acted out. And you’ve got to know what it is.

It can take time and ingenuity to find a scanner’s niche, work that accommodates all of a scanner’s many interests. But the results are worth it. Scanners are poets—and librarians, documentary filmmakers, explorers, brilliant salespeople, good managers, naturally gifted teachers.

When we take in shock, we release it through our feelings. It’s one of nature’s gifts to get us through hard times. Repressing feelings isn’t healthy and will backfire on you sooner or later.

You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up for you.